Presented by Lloyds Banking Group
London Playbook
By SAM BLEWETT
with BETHANY DAWSON
Good Wednesday morning. This is Sam Blewett.
DRIVING THE DAY
IT’S ROUGH, JUSTICE: Shabana Mahmood is back brandishing a long(er)-term plan to solve the overcrowding crisis in the crumbling prison estate. The justice secretary was forced to make the first of Labour’s massively uncomfortable decisions in government when she authorized the early release just a week into the job. But now she’s pledging to start building four new prisons that’ll free up space to ease the crisis … well, at least for 18 months or so.
Jailhouses rock: Mahmood is touring the airwaves right now with stops on Sky News at 7.15 a.m. and BBC Breakfast at 7.30 a.m. to talk up her 10-year prison capacity strategy for England and Wales. Four new prisons in Yorkshire, Leicestershire, Buckinghamshire and Lancashire will be rammed through the planning system by Housing Secretary Angela Rayner to create 6,400 new places over the next seven years. That figure will be doubled when combined with building on existing jails, including adding more prefab “rapid deployment cells.”
So porridgereally is bad: Despite an estimated £10.1 billion being plowed into this building scheme, officials believe it’ll only tide the prison estate over until spring 2026 when it’d be chock-a-block again. The tricky situation should be outlined in modeling in the first annual statement on prison capacity being published by the MoJ today.
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Stick a Gauke in it: That’s where David Gauke and his sentencing review comes in. Mahmood is pinning hopes on the former justice secretary’s work (expected around April) spelling out how to reduce the number of people going to prison before she has to order another emergency release scheme — something officials insist she won’t do.
Another one for the inheritance: Boris Johnson pledged 20,000 new prison places by 2026, but so far only around 6,500 have been created. Mahmood is arguing the cost of finishing the job has now nearly doubled from around £5 billion, and Labour advisers blame a NIMBYist approach to building under the Tories. “They left our prisons in crisis, on the edge of collapse,” the justice secretary said in her release overnight.
Hold onto your hats, Middle England: The government is promising to fast-track planning for all new prison buildings by declaring them sites of national importance so Rayner can wave them through. It’s this measure that makes the Telegraph’s splash, airing concerns that objections from towns and villages will be summarily dismissed.
And it doesn’t stop there: All this comes before Rayner’s big national policy planning framework on Thursday. Chris Smyth and Geraldine Scott report on the Times’ front page that she’ll use it to push on with plans to prioritize for housebuilding an area of the green belt bigger than (shock horror!) Surrey. They hear from experts that the housing secretary’s expanded definition of “low quality” green belt may only result in about 100,000 extra homes being built.
But back to today: Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick is on the rival broadcast round right now — his first since being defeated by Kemi Badenoch in the Tory leadership contest. Overnight Jenrick was blasting the government for not announcing any (more) new money for prisons as Chancellor Rachel Reeves instead offers “inflation-busting pay rises for her trade union paymasters.” A taste, perhaps, of what’s to come when Jenrick’s boss takes to the Commons stage in that most coveted job of opposition leader.
PITCHFORKS AT NOON
MAKING HAY WHILE THE SUN HIDES: The tractors are revving their way slowly toward Westminster, there are whispers of more public sector strikes on the horizon and myriad thorny decisions have to be mulled over in the spending review. Kemi Badenoch and opposition MPs certainly have their pick of topics to challenge Keir Starmer on during PMQs at midday. The prime minister is back from his globetrotting — at least for now. But with everything going on it’s not so hard to see why he’s racking up so many air miles (all 75,000 of them, according to the Metro’s Craig Munro).
It’s a farm offensive: A band of angry farmers from across rural England will once again converge on Westminster this morning to express their outrage over the government’s inheritance tax changes. The Met is preparing for them to start arriving in Whitehall from 10 a.m. before speeches start at noon. It wouldn’t be surprising if some of Starmer’s critics don their battered Barbour jackets and flat caps and dash from the Commons to join the protest, which organizers expect to feature around 300 tractors. It’s just a shame Neil Parish isn’t still in Westminster to witness it.
BUT IT’S NOT JUST THE WELLY WEARERS: Rachel Reeves is now the subject of union anger after ministers proposed a 2.8 percent pay rise for NHS staff, teachers and senior civil servants next year. The FT points out that the education and health departments’ evidence to independent pay review bodies suggested anything higher would be unaffordable in 2025-26. The OBR reckons inflation will average 2.6 percent, but public sector workers are after proper raises and unions now want ministers to enter negotiations to strike a better deal.
The anger is widespread:Unison said it’d be “barely above the cost of living” … the British Medical Association warned of a “very real risk” of further strikes without a shift … the Royal College of Nursing reckons the offer is “deeply offensive” … and the National Education Union said it falls “well short of the urgent action needed.”
Nice timing: The RCN’s General Secretary Nicola Ranger is at the Health and Social Care Committee from 10.30 a.m. to discuss the NHS’ 10-year plan, but MPs may well want to ask about the unions’ demands.
Less nice timing: The RMT announced that Avanti West Coast train managers have voted to walk out for three days over Christmas (Dec. 22, 23 and 29) on the London to Scotland service. The BBC has more details to help inform any holiday travel affected.
No excuse to skimp on the smoked salmon: The chancellor is meeting with British Chambers of Commerce members this morning to address their concerns about the budget. No doubt they’ll have in mind this BBC report on how ministerial folders are being purchased at £600 a pop. Handily, Office for Value for Money chief David Goldstone will be quizzed about the newly established unit by the Treasury Committee at 2.15 p.m.
SCOOP — GRAYED OUT: Daniel Gieve has left his role as CEO of the government’s Office for Investment, three people confirm to my colleagues Dan Bloom and Graham Lanktree. The veteran former principal private secretary to Tory Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude worked with No. 10 chief of staff-to-be Sue Gray back in the day and was seen as one of her allies. He outlasted three PMs since he was appointed to head up the OFI in 2020.
Watch this space: It’s not yet clear if there’ll be a new CEO at the OFI, given the government said it’d be “revamped” in October. A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said the office is at the “forefront of the government’s efforts to ensure the maximum investment into the U.K.” and its work will continue. Dan hears that Gieve has an unknown role at the DBT, for now. There are (unconfirmed) whispers that he could leave entirely for a new job in the near future.
A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH
MEET YOUR NEW SCRUTINEERS: Shabana Mahmood may well also be asked about assisted dying on her broadcast round, as it’s the first time we get to hear from the high-profile critic of the proposals since Kim Leadbeater’s bill passed its second reading. But there’s another big moment (for Westminster watchers, at least) expected tonight when the MPs selected to sit on the bill committee should be unveiled.
Here to help: Leadbeater, the Labour backbencher who’s shepherding the landmark legislation through the Commons after lucking out in the private members’ bill ballot, will submit her 20-plus picks to work on the bill to the Committee of Selection. Expect an announcement on the make-up after the 4.30 p.m. meeting if all goes to plan. (Playbook hears a replacement was being sought for a last-minute dropout.) Leadbeater’s team hope to announce the result themselves but it’ll go up on the “votes and proceedings” business paper overnight if not.
Don’t protest too much: Leadbeater’s been striving to ensure the committee reflects the balance of the views expressed across the house when MPs backed it on Nov. 29, though it’ll only include critics deemed as “constructive.” It should also reflect the balance of the parties and feature medical and legal experts.
Could much change? Often private members’ bills come out of this process unscathed, but this one could be different. Particularly when it comes to the controversial topic of whether doctors should be able to suggest assisted dying as an option.
The scores on the doors: The majority at second reading stood at 55. But some were backing it so the debate could go on. Nigel Farage has told Playbook he reckons his Reform colleagues will be “far less split” at the third reading. He voted against it, but three of his four colleagues were in favor. “I think one or two of our people voted just to say this deserves to have a bigger debate,” the party leader said. That’d only be a small change, but it’s not hard to see others doing the same.
All to play for once more: Supporters of the bill reckon nothing is “nailed on” at the third reading expected in mid-May, and the work of the bill committee could well have a bearing on whether it progresses further. Then, it’d be onto the Lords, where it could face a rough ride, at least among the peers who remain.
TODAY IN WESTMINSTER
PEER-TO-PEER ABOLITION: The House of Lords has a bumper first debate on whether to boot out all 92 of their hereditary colleagues. To prove they’re really not the shirkers some of them are made out to be, the upper chamber is sitting early (well, from 11 a.m.) to accommodate the 96 peers who’ve put their names down to speak. Lords leader Angela Smith will kick off the debate before winding it back down an anticipated 12 hours later — quite some stint for a “very tightly drawn five clause bill,” as one adviser points out. No votes are expected, though scrutinizing the upper house is anything but an exact science.
Lords beware: It’s not just those only there by birthright who some have their eyes on. There are members of “the other place” who want to amend the Hereditary Peerages Bill to oust those who rarely attend or take part in events, as my colleague Esther Webber wrote in a great primer this week. Harriet Harman also told her she’d be putting up an amendment to remove the 26 places reserved for the Church of England bishops … which may well start gaining more traction, considering Justin Welby’s recent performance.
RSVP: Labour’s Meg Hillier, the new chair of the powerful Liaison Committee, fired off an invitation to Starmer for his first grilling before the cross-party group of MPs. The prime minister has been asked to appear before them on Dec. 19 — the last day of term.
GUARDING THE BIGGEST SECRETS: The order paper shows the PM’s nominations to parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee are … John Hayes, Peter Dowd, Richard Foord, Jessica Morden, Derek Twigg and Jeremy Wright. MPs are set to debate the picks to sit on the spy watchdog this afternoon.
THE RED APPLE, SO CLOSE TO THE TREE: The Sun’s Harry Cole and Jack Elsom report that 28 ministers are either related to each other, married to other Labour politicians or have their partner in a public role. They say the figure under Rishi Sunak was 11.
EU AND WHOSE ARMY: Bloomberg’s Ellen Milligan and Jorge Valero report that ministers are considering joining a £1.2 billion fund being set up by Brussels to bolster the regional defense industry. The fresh step in the great Brexit “reset” would allow U.K. defense firms to cooperate with EU companies to bid for funding.
A reset too far: Nick Thomas-Symonds, the PM’s lead Brexit negotiator, told the Lords’ European Affairs Committee that ministers are concerned a youth mobility scheme could drive up immigration. He said it could negatively impact the government’s proposal to bring net migration down, adding: “Obviously that’s an objective that we are determined to achieve.” Your Playbook author and colleague Jon Stone reported back in October that Yvette Cooper was among those in the cabinet who were against the scheme on migration grounds.
ER, IS THAT HOW THIS WORKS? Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman personally lobbied then-Foreign Secretary David Cameron earlier this year to intervene in a legal case involving a London-based dissident who is suing the Saudi government, the Guardian’s Henry Dyer and Stephanie Kirchgaessner report. The paper says it obtained government documents that show Cameron asked Foreign Office officials to “propose options” after Mohammed raised the case of Ghanem Al-Masarir with him on the sidelines of a World Economic Forum meeting in Riyadh. (Incidentally, FIFA is set to confirm today that Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 men’s football World Cup.)
WE’VE GOT TO TALK ABOUT RACHEL: NFU President Tom Bradshaw is discussing the future of farming with the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee at 11 a.m. Age UK Charity Director Caroline Abrahams is popping up in front of the Women and Equalities Committee to discuss the rights of older people at 2.20 p.m. Expect plenty of heat aimed at Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s direction.
MONEY, MONEY, MONEY: The Office for National Statistics will publish the national balance sheet estimates at 9.30 a.m.
SW1 EVENTS: Westminster Hall Christmas Carols kick off at 1 p.m., with a Hanukkah celebration at 5 p.m. … The Embassy of Ireland has Christmas drinks from 6.30 p.m (invite only).
REPORTS OUT TODAY: 354,000 people in England (including 161,500 children) are homeless, a 14 percent rise in one year, according to Shelter (via PA) … targeted support is needed to help people on low incomes affected by the rising state pension age, says the IFS … and painful reproductive health conditions are going undiagnosed, with many women having to “suck it up” as a result of “medical misogyny,” says a Women and Equalities Committee report that splashes the Mail.
HOUSE OF COMMONS: Sits from 11.30 a.m. with Wales questions … PMQs at noon … a 10-minute rule motion on Theft on Tools of Trade (Sentencing) (led by Labour MP Amanda Martin) … and the second day of the Committee of the whole House of the Finance Bill. Lib Dem MP Calum Miller has the adjournment debate on nationally significant infrastructure projects and local road networks.
WESTMINSTER HALL: Debates from 9.30 a.m. on the explosive ordnance disposal community (led by Lib Dem MP Helen Maguire) … responsibilities of housing developers (Conservative MP Robbie Moore) … financial inclusion in rural areas (Lib Dem MP Anna Sabine).
On committee corridor: Interim NHS Providers Chief Executive Saffron Cordery discusses the 10-year health plan with the Health and Social Care Committee (9.30 a.m.) … Local Government Minister Jim McMahon scrutinizes the Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Bill (4.20 p.m.) … Prisons Minister James Timpson gives evidence on the criticized HMP Parc with the Welsh Affairs Committee (10.15 a.m.) … Rail Minister Peter Hendy chats about the government’s plan to reform the railway sector with the Transport Committee (9.15 a.m.) … Foreign Minister Stephen Doughty and Science Minister Patrick Vallance discuss the U.K. and the Antarctic environment with the Environmental Audit Committee (3.30 p.m).
HOUSE OF LORDS: Sits from 11 a.m. with the second reading of the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill … questions on antidepressant prescriptions, special educational needs and building 1.5 million new homes by 2029 … followed by the continued reading of the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill.
BEYOND THE M25
MIDDLE EAST LATEST: Israel has conducted at least 350 airstrikes on targets in Syria in the past 48 hours. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the objective was to “destroy strategic capabilities that threaten the State of Israel” following the ouster of dictator Bashar Assad. My POLITICO colleague Tom Nicholson has the story.
On threat levels: Syrian rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is not a direct terror threat to the U.K., western intelligence assessments have concluded, which could mean that it is soon removed from the government’s list of proscribed terror organizations, the Guardian reports. On Monday, Keir Starmer said it was “far too early” to make such a change.
EVENING NATTER: Scottish First Minister John Swinney had a phone call with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump for the first time since his election. The pair spoke about whiskey and golf, the Telegraph reports. The SNP leader said Trump expressed “his willingness and his enthusiasm to come to visit Scotland.”
GONE, A PUFF OF SMOKE: The Senned has backed a ban of disposable vapes in Wales from June 1, 2025, the same day that single-use nicotine machines will be banned in England.
TALKIN’ TRADE: Stormont members have backed a vote to continue Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trade arrangements for at least four more years. Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said the vote is an “important step forward for the Windsor Framework.” Read more on the BBC.
TOP SCORERS: POLITICO Europe has revealed its annual list of the most influential people in Europe, with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at No. 1. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is the top “doer,” German opposition leader Friedrich Merz has been named the leading “disrupter,” and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte as the prime “dreamer.” Full illustrated list here.
AID DELIVERED: The U.S. Treasury has given $20 billion to Ukraine, funded by profits from frozen Russian assets. The money, administered through the World Bank, can’t be used for the military but will help provide Ukraine “the resources it needs to sustain emergency services, hospitals, and other foundations of its brave resistance, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said. The BBC has more.
SUPPORTING NEIGHBORS: Russia is preparing to deploy its new hypersonic Oreshnik missiles in Belarus in 2025. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he asked Russian President Vladimir Putin for the new missiles on Friday, citing fears of escalation due to the presence of Polish and Lithuanian troops near Belarus’ western border. Read more from my colleague Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing.
DAY IN COURT: Benjamin Netanyahu took the witness stand at his criminal trial in Tel Aviv, where he described charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust against him as “absurd.” The Israeli prime minister accused the media of attacking him because of its leftist leanings, adding: “Had I wanted good coverage all I would have had to have done would be to signal toward a two-state solution.” Read more on the BBC.
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MEDIA ROUND
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood broadcast round: Times Radio (7.05 a.m.) … Sky (7.15 a.m.) … BBC Breakfast (7.30 a.m.) … LBC (7.50 a.m.) … GMB (8.30 a.m.).
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick broadcast round: GB News (7.20 a.m.) … Times Radio (7.45 a.m.) … Sky (8.15 a.m.) … Today (8.45 a.m.) … Today (8.45 a.m.) … Talk (9.05 a.m.) … LBC (9.20 a.m.).
Also on Nick Ferrari at Breakfast: Former HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary Tom Winsor (7.10 a.m.) … Former Israeli Member of Parliament Ruth Wasserman Lande (8.05 a.m.).
Also on GB News PMQs (11.50 a.m.): Labour MP Mike Tapp and Shadow Crime Minister Matt Vickers.
Also on Times Radio Breakfast: Former EU Ambassador to Syria Marc Pierini (7.20 a.m.) … Israeli Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Sharren Haskel (7.30 a.m.) … Former U.S. special envoy for Middle East humanitarian issues David Satterfield (8 a.m.).
Also on Sky News Breakfast: Save British Farming Founder Liz Webster (7.30 a.m.) … Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko (9.30 a.m.).
Also on LBC News: Labour MP Tan Dhesi (8.20 a.m.).
Politics Live (BBC Two 11.15 p.m.): Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh … Conservative MP Bradley Thomas … Politics Joe’s Ava Santina Evans … commentator Albie Amankona … Creative Industries Minister Chris Bryant … Shadow Science Minister Ben Spencer.
TODAY’S FRONT PAGES
POLITICO UK: Has Syrian rebel leader al-Golani really shaken off his al Qaeda past?
Daily Express: ‘It strengthens my resolve to continue Becky’s legacy.’
Daily Mail: Women left in agony by ‘medical misogyny.’
Daily Mirror: Hunting Assad’s torture squads.
Daily Star: Biggest drip in Britain.
Financial Times: Complex debt bonanza feeds appetite for juicy returns.
i: New turmoil in the Middle East as neighbours launch attacks inside Syria.
Metro: Assassin suspect had ‘jackal ghost gun.’
The Daily Telegraph: Rayner to force through plans for new jails.
The Guardian: Israel strikes military targets and seizes territory in Syria offensive.
The Independent: ‘Every household has three or four missing …’
The Sun: Kate sinks the Bismarck.
The Times: Israel blitzes arms silo and sinks Navy in Syria.
LONDON CALLING
WESTMINSTER WEATHER: More clouds! Turn on those Christmas lights to brighten things up. High 8C, low 6C.
NEW GIG: Donjeta Miftari, who was the PM’s foreign policy adviser in No. 10 until October, and also advised Shabana Mahmood in opposition, has been hired by Hanbury Strategy. She’s joined as a director, working across the agency’s public affairs and communications practices.
SPOTTED … about 1,000 Labour politicians, operators, business and media people crammed into the basement ballroom of the Park Plaza Westminster for SME4Labour’s gala dinner and awards, where the prizes included a bottle of Lords pinot noir signed by Angela Rayner, who beat contenders including, er, Louise Haigh to “Cabinet member of the year” … No. 10 Political Director Claire Reynolds … Labour Party Chair Ellie Reeves … Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds … Care Minister Stephen Kinnock … Veterans Minister Al Carns … Northern Ireland Minister Fleur Anderson … Energy Consumers Minister Miatta Fahnbulleh … Government Whip Christian Wakeford … Labour MPs Rosena Allin-Khan (who compèred and dished out 16 awards), Dan Tomlinson, Steve Yem, Chris Webb, Rosie Wrighting, Sarah Edwards, Bill Esterson, Zubir Ahmed, John Grady, Perran Moon, Johanna Baxter, Afzal Khan, Toby Perkins, Lee Barron, Baggy Shanker, Rupa Huq, Siobhain McDonagh, Sonia Kumar, Deirdre Costigan … crossbench peer Karan Bilimoria … NEC members Abdi Duale and Anu Prashar, and former Chair Alice Perry … former Labour MP Virendra Sharma … former Labour General Secretary David Evans … SME4Labour founder Ibrahim Dogus … LGBT Labour’s Joe Dharampal-Hornby … Jewish Labour Movement’s Mike Katz … Alex Zur-Clark of Labour for a New Democracy … Sunday Times Whitehall Editor Gabriel Pogrund … Reuters Political Editor Liz Piper … hacks Kieron Clarke, Sophia Sleigh, Nick Dorman and Scarlet Howes.
Also spotted: Sipping champagne at the Policy Exchange Christmas reception at Tate Britain … guest speaker, Cabinet Office Minister Pat McFadden … Tory MP John Hayes … No. 10 chief of staff Morgan McSweeney … former Conservative MP Michael Fallon … former Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster … Conservative peers Paul Goodman, Anne McIntosh and Tina Stowell … columnist Melanie Phillips … the Express’ Martyn Brown and Sam Lister … the Mail’s David Wilcock … Sky News’ Trevor Phillips and Jon Craig … Schillings’ George Pascoe-Watson … the BBC’s James Landale … the Sun’s Harry Cole, Jack Elsom and Ryan Sabey … former No. 10 comms chiefs Kirsty Buchanan and Robbie Gibb … political documentary maker Michael Cockerell.
Also spotted: At the Conservative Environment Network’s Christmas Reception in parliament … Shadow Environment Secretary Victoria Atkins … Shadow Welsh Secretary Mims Davies … Shadow Transport Minister Jerome Mayhew … Shadow Farming Minister Robbie Moore … Shadow Environment Minister Neil Hudson … Conservative MPs Harriet Cross, John Lamont, Aphra Brandreth, Rebecca Smith, Gagan Mohindra, Patrick Spencer, Bernard Jenkin and Neil Shastri-Hurst … Conservative peer Malcolm Sinclair … former Tory MPs Charles Hendry, Philip Dunne, Rebecca Pow and Virginia Crosbie … former Conservative Leader Michael Howard … CEN’s Phillipa Broom and Sam Hall … Express’ Steph Spyro … the Mail’s David Wilcock … ConHome’s William Atkinson … the Times’ Aubrey Allegretti.
Also spotted … eating wood pigeon at the Conservative Rural Forum’s Christmas dinner in the Farmers Club … Shadow Welsh Secretary Mims Davies … Conservative MP Charlie Dewhirst and wife Tamara … the CRF team including National Chair Lizzie Hacking … Next Gen Tories’ Josh Smith … the Express’ Christian Calgie.
Also spotted: At the launch of the Labour Friends of the Commonwealth Group … Dominican Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, who spoke about the “escalating threat of climate change” and the need for cooperation across the Commonwealth … group Chair Preet Kaur Gill … Trade Policy Minister Douglas Alexander … MPs Dawn Butler, Bambos Charalambous, Tan Dhesi and Jas Athwal.
CONGRATULATIONS: To Labour MP Joe Morris and Whip’s Office SpAd Hana Al-Izzi on their engagement.
NOW READ: Kitty Donaldson’s column in the i, which frames Rachel Reeves’ difficult next few weeks after instructing Cabinet ministers to find 5 percent cuts to their budgets.
WRITING PLAYBOOK PM: Emilio Casalicchio.
WRITING PLAYBOOK THURSDAY MORNING: Dan Bloom.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO: Carlisle MP Julie Minns … former Mansfield MP Ben Bradley … Labour Party Chair Ellie Reeves … former Hazel Grove MP William Wragg … Runnymede and Weybridge MP Ben Spencer … Tory peer and former Health Secretary Andrew Lansley … former Labour MP Adrian Bailey … former Labour European Parliament Chair Theresa Griffin … former Scottish Government Permanent Secretary Leslie Evans … Repubblica U.K. correspondent Antonello Guerrera … outgoing Daily Mirror columnist Paul Routledge … former U.K. High Commissioner to Tonga Lucy Joyce … ConservativeHome Deputy Editor Henry Hill.
PLAYBOOK COULDN’T HAPPEN WITHOUT: My editors Zoya Sheftalovich, Jack Blanchard and Alex Spence, diary reporter Bethany Dawson and producer Dean Southwell.
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